School buses are extensively used throughout North America for transporting school children to and from schools. Currently, there are almost 700,000 school buses in use in Canada and the United States. Although the safety records of school buses have improved substantially recently, there still occur, unfortunately, accidents wherein the school children are injured, and sometimes killed, after exiting a school bus.
A substantial problem with school buses is that drivers have difficulty in seeing young children crossing immediately in front of the bus. That is, many children cross the road by walking immediately in front of the school bus. This poses a very serious problem because the relative sizes of the children and the buses are such that the drivers will sometimes not see the children as they cross in front of the bus. Thus, a child immediately in front of the bus is typically out in the blind spot of the driver. The driver, thinking that he can proceed, may hit and injure the child. Moreover, school bus drivers are expected to communicate with the exited passengers by means of hand signals. Under certain road and ambient light conditions, this method of communication is less than satisfactory.
In addition, children exiting a school bus and wanting to cross the roadway face the hazard of being struck by a motor vehicle travelling on the road. Regulations in most areas of Canada and the United States require school buses to activate flashing red lights and a swing-out stop sign when the bus is stopped to warn motorists that children are exiting the bus. When the flashing red lights and stop sign are activated, motorists travelling in both directions on the road are required to stop and remain stopped until the flashing lights and stop sign are de-activated.
Numerous attempts have been made to overcome these problems in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,517 discloses a warning system mounted on the front of a school bus. The system provides two signals to school children who are off the bus: the first signal is a flashing red light and the second is a steady green light. The warning system is controlled by the driver and allows the driver to direct the children safely across the roadway. The system has two opposed pairs of transparent areas, one being red and the other one being green. The opposite face of the unit has the identical construction. Therefore, when the flashing red light is turned on, it can be seen from both sides of the device, and therefore from both sides of the road. Similarly, when the green light is turned on, it can also be seen from both sides of the road.
The warning system device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,517 allows the driver to indicate to children who want to cross the road when it is safe to do so. If the driver sees that there may be a potential traffic hazard with respect to crossing the road, for example, an approaching motorist who does not appear to be stopping, the driver switches on the flashing red lights to alert the children on both sides of the road not to cross the road. When the driver observes that all is clear, he can then switch the green lights on to advise the children that they may now cross the road. Since each of the flashing red lights or the steady green lights can be seen from both sides of the device, children standing on either side of the road can be warned by the driver whether to cross or not to cross the street.
Although the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,517 is useful in ensuring that children do not cross the road when a potential traffic hazard exists, the device does not address the problem of small children crossing immediately in front of the school bus and within the drivers blind spot nor does it address the potential confusing green light which may be seen by stationary and oncoming other road users.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,754 discloses a barrier system located on the lower front of the school bus. The barrier system includes an elongate arm which is normally stowed transversely at the front end of the bus. When the bus comes to a stop, the arm is automatically swung 90.degree. to a position forward of the bus to provide a barrier immediately in front of the bus. The arm is operated as soon as the driver opens the doors of the bus, thus preventing children from walking immediately in front of the bus, and allowing the children to remain within sight of the driver at all times.
One of the potential disadvantages of the barrier system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,754 is that children become curious of the arm, and therefore have tended to play with or around the arm or to "duck under" the arm. Another potential problem is that, in colder climates, the hydraulic system, or other means of mechanical extension and withdrawal, of the barrier system tends to break down or require excessive maintenance, and difficulties in operation may be encountered in areas where heavy snow falls occur.
Another warning system for use on school buses is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,392. After children have disembarked from the school bus, and the doors begin to close, an audible warning signal is activated to warn the children that the bus is about to leave. The audible signal remains activated until the bus has left, and therefore children are warned to stay away from the school bus when it is about to leave.
Other visual warning systems for use with motor vehicles in general are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,400,655; 3,491,336; and 3,786,498.
None of the devices disclosed in the above prior art, however, address the problem of ensuring that school children disembarking a school bus and crossing the road do so in a safe manner, while remaining at all times within the field of vision of the driver.